Pope Francis Shakes Up the Church

Leaders Respond to Magazine Interview

WASHINGTON — On Sept. 19, a 12,000-word interview with Pope Francis appeared in Jesuit publications across the globe, provoking a furor that propelled Church leaders onto U.S. television talk shows to help explain what their new shepherd had in mind.

"I’m listening to him. He’s asking for a fresh strategy," Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Sept. 20 on NBC’s Today show, when asked to respond to the papal critique of Catholics preoccupied with "small-minded rules" and fixated too exclusively on hot-button issues like abortion and same-sex "marriage."

"I think what he’s saying is, sometimes, if we come across as negative, as complaining too much, we lose the folks," said Cardinal Dolan. "We’ve got to be positive; we’ve got to be fresh; we’ve got to be affirming. ... I think he’s on to something. He’s a good teacher."

Six months into the pontificate of an extraordinarily frank and open pope, whose simple, direct manner of speech is well-suited to social media, Church leaders like Cardinal Dolan are learning to adapt to a new style of papal communication and evangelization.

Apparently with no warning, the lengthy papal interview was released into the global blogosphere, and bishops, theologians and lay leaders grappled with media headlines like USA Today’s "Pope seeks less focus on abortion, gays, contraception."

As Catholic leaders scrambled to clarify Francis’ message to the faithful and a bemused public, they must also address anxiety from believers who have labored in the trenches of pro-life or marriage outreach and seek reassurance, rather than what might be interpreted as a scolding.

Battlefield Christianity

Asked to comment on the most striking passages of the interview, which ranged from the need to make spiritual healing a central element of evangelization to the Jesuit practice of spiritual discernment, several Catholic leaders noted Francis’ description of the Church as a "field hospital" with the injured in need of Christ’s love and mercy.

"I see the Church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds. ... And you have to start from the ground up," stated the Pope in the interview.

"The Church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules."

The Holy Father’s critique of "small-minded rules" appeared in news headlines, leading some activists who oppose Church teaching to celebrate what they saw as a break from the pontificates of Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

However Msgr. Stuart Swetland, the Flynn Professor of Christian Ethics at Mount St. Mary’s University, suggested that the confused reaction to the Pope’s published interview only confirmed Francis’ urgent call for bishops and pastors to bring Christ’s saving message to the fringes of society.

"What struck me most was that the reaction to the interview proved that the Holy Father was correct in his analysis. Many, many people do not know the basic message of the Good News of Jesus Christ," Msgr. Swetland told the Register.

"People have not even had an encounter with the person and message of Jesus. To not see this great pastoral need would be in a very real sense ‘small-minded.’ It is not to see the big picture."

Papal biographer George Weigel acknowledged that some of the faithful were shocked by the Pope’s words, but he insisted that Francis sought to rouse the Church from its complacency.

"Jorge Mario Bergoglio is: a radically converted Christian disciple who has felt the mercy of God in his own life and who describes himself, without intending any dramatic effect, as ‘a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon,’" wrote Weigel in a column for National Review, "The Christ-Centered Pope."

"Having heard the call to conversion and responded to it, Bergoglio wants to facilitate others’ hearing of that call, which never ceases to come from God through Christ and the Church."

Courage’s Father Check

Father Paul Check, the director of the International Courage Apostolate, which offers spiritual outreach to persons with same-sex attraction who wish to live in accordance with Catholic teaching, said the Pope’s message would resonate with Courage members.

"I love the image of the Church as a hospital, which I believe comes from St. Francis de Sales. That is grounded in what Our Lord says: ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’ He is the Divine Physician, and so the Church becomes the hospital that Pope Francis mentioned," said Father Check.

He suggested that the Pope’s exhortation echoed the Gospel story in John 4, where Jesus meets the "woman at the well" and begins the conversation with words "about the life of God that is shared with us and how that is given to us through the living water that is grace. Then he speaks about her desire for eternal life," Father Check said.

"After these things, he gets to the question of morality, and he makes it plain to the woman that she is living in a way inconsistent with her humanity or desire for eternal life."

Father Check said that the Pope is offering Christ’s example as a way forward during a time "when so many conversations about morality have broken down entirely."

The Courage director observed that the Pope’s words might have been intended for well-catechized Catholics willing to read one of the 16 international Jesuit publications that simultaneously published the lengthy interview, but instead were filtered to many readers through media outlets with little appreciation for the broader context of Church teaching. Thus, for example, the headlines might lead the public to conclude that the Pope was critical of other Church leaders’ staunch defense of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

"As civil society relaxes objections to new forms of family life, it might see something in the Pope’s words that is not there," he said.

Pro-Life Priority

Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life echoed that point in an email message from Rome, where he was an invited speaker at a Vatican conference "precisely on the topic of the priority of the abortion issue in the concerns of the Church."

"When the Pope speaks about context, this obviously includes the context of all the teaching documents of the Church, which point out that the right to life is our first and most fundamental right," said Father Pavone.

"Nobody should try to use the words of the Pope to minimize the urgent need to preach and teach about abortion. If they do, then it is context that is needed," he added, noting that the Pope attended the Vatican conference and defended the dignity of life.

Catholic leaders reflected on the shortcomings of media coverage that suggested incorrectly that the Pope objected to pro-life activism, yet few news stories actually addressed the breadth of his remarks on topics like spiritual discernment or his Jesuit vocation.

Those who read the interview said it offered a fascinating, multilayered portrait of the Pope’s thinking.

For example, Jesuit Father Drew Christiansen, a visiting scholar at Boston College, told the Register that he was struck by "Pope Francis’ identification with Peter Faber, one of the first Jesuits. Faber dialogued ‘with all, even his opponent,’ as Francis does. The description of Faber as a ‘reformed priest’ for whom interior experience, dogmatic expression and structural reform were inseparable fits Francis and Francis’ style of leadership as well."

But news stories generally skipped those illuminating passages. Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the U.S. bishops’ point man on religious freedom, remarked that "what the media did, ironically enough, is to focus on just a few comments in a long interview, and indeed present them as disjoined moral issues."

"The Pope is saying: If you fall in love with God, they won’t be disjointed issues; they will be part of a way of life," Archbishop Lori added.

Distorted Image

However, in his high-profile role on religious freedom, Archbishop Lori has pondered the problem of how the culture wars have created a distorted public image of an "issue-based" Church that appears to lack a coherent and holistic vision of human existence.

"I don’t think the Holy Father is saying we should back away from these things. But he is saying we don’t come at this as cultural warriors. We are not the talking heads on television," Archbishop Lori told the Register. "We are servants of the Gospels, stewards of the mysteries."

"The first overarching task is to help people believe in God, in the Trinity of Persons. We receive this love from God through the Holy Spirit, and it changes our lives," he said. "Once we are so transformed, we obey the [Ten] Commandments, and when we listen to the Church’s wisdom on social issues, our response is one of love and gratitude."

Archbishop Lori emphasized the continuity of Pope Francis with his papal predecessor.

"He is not saying anything different from Pope Benedict, who said that our faith is fundamentally a Yes, whose first encyclical was entitled God Is Love," he noted. "Through his pastoral style, he is trying to give us new eyes to see and new ears to hear."

Pastoral Strategy

And the U.S. bishops’ spokesman for religious freedom believes that pastoral style is particularly suited to the contemporary circumstances the Church must address, in America and elsewhere.

"The image of the field hospital says a lot about our culture — the people are wounded on the battlefield," he said. "He is not saying that all is well, but he is saying: First, you bind up their wounds. I think it is a canny pastoral strategy."

Comments

Worry out my fellows in Christ, the Church as well as her doctrinal teachings are safe and protected by the powers of the Holy Spirit, God.
That discussion with his Holiness Francis was just the beginning of a better church to the future.
Reading and listening to the Holy father in his daily teachings will really tell you that he is truly a man of God.

Posted by Phil Dunkl on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2013 7:14 PM (EST):

The Pope should be very careful when he speaks. He has caused confusion and has disheartened traditional, faithful Catholics. This interview is not a great beginning and perhaps confirms fears that a Jesuit will undermine the faith of many as they have done in institutions of higher education in which young Catholics have less faith upon graduating then upon entering. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide this Pope as he leads the Church, but I fear we are entering even darker, more confusing times than the decades following Vatican II. My children who are in their early 40s suffered the confusion of post-Vatican II, and now my grandchildren who received First Communion at St. Francis Xavier Church, a Jesuit Church, in lower Manhattan may also be lost because of a Jesuit Pastor who undermined the faith, challenging Church dogma, referring to “God the Mother,” marching in the Gay Pride Parade. God works in mysterious ways and perhaps the choice of this Pope is another example of how he lets Free Will lead to negative consequences. Please, let us all pray for the Church.

Posted by Nancy D. on Tuesday, Oct 8, 2013 2:18 PM (EST):

I grieve for those men and women who have been denied the Truth of Love, because of the sin of omission. The True God, The God of our Salvation, from the moment of our conception, when we were created in The Image and Likeness of God, equal in Dignity, while being complementary as a son or daughter, Willed us worthy of Redemption. God desires we overcome our disordered inclinations, whatever they may be, so that we are not led into temptation, but become transformed through God’s Gift of Grace and Mercy. The Sacrifice of The Cross, Is The Sacrifice of The Most Holy, The Blessed Trinity, “For God so Loved us, that He sent His only Son…” At the end of The Day, it is still a Great Mystery, but it is no mystery that what God Desires for us, from The Beginning, is authentic Love.

Posted by linda vandeveer on Tuesday, Oct 8, 2013 9:26 AM (EST):

we believe in the infalability of the Pope,Christiens trust Gods plans and accept the changes that we need. Gods will, will be done in spite of our rebellious spirit. God promised. We have to trust His plan and reailize that we are not Him after all we did not make ourselves.

Posted by Lily of France on Sunday, Oct 6, 2013 4:36 PM (EST):

@ Robert Hill:
Don’t be ludicrous, Lily. Despair is a sin.

*********************************

Actually it’s not despair. I and many others love and accept the faith and teachings in its entirety: dogmas/doctrines/traditions. Unlike the rest who have accepted Gay Marriage, Abortion, Contraception, Women Priest, Priests to Marry, voting for Obama..should I go on….. I wonder which are you? That is despair.

We carry the cross of Christ and its entire message so we are delighted to engage and defend.

Think about your words before you utter any nonsense. If you know history you would have some recollection.

In Christ,

Posted by Fallen on Sunday, Oct 6, 2013 11:33 AM (EST):

Compare and contrast his “humility”:

Pope Francis - “You know what I think about this? Heads of the Church have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy.”

And then he says - “The Council Fathers knew that being open to modern culture meant religious ecumenism and dialogue with non-believers. But afterwards very little was done in that direction. I have the humility and ambition to want to do something.” See that? Heads of the Church have often been narcissists, but not him. Why, he’s so humble he openly tells you he’s humble. Have you ever seen a man who was more proud of his humility? Seriously.

But more-so:

I ask you, would a person of authentic humble motives draw attention to his humility? Well, “Pope” Francis is determined to teach us all a lesson on humility by running around Rome paying his own hotel bills - “with his own money.” He obviously doesn’t understand that “his own money” and the money of all the clergy, is actually the money that has been given to the Church for more than 2,000 years by faithful Catholics– from the very poor to the very rich. And yet - here he is making an open show of “his” poor generous humble heart. As the old saying goes about socialists - They’re the most generous people in the world .... with other people’s money.

But most importantly– since when does paying for your own hotel bill constitute an act of humility?

And have you ever seen a pope who just had to kiss every baby and hug every handicapped soul - in front of the media cameras? Is this not the very same tactics of every effective politician the world over? Why, they’re certainly humble too, of course. See how much they care?

So is humility a virtue? St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas have something to say…

Humility—“is sometimes done merely as to outward signs and pretense: wherefore this is “false humility,” of which Augustine says in a letter (Ep. cxlix) that it is “grievous pride,” … sometimes, however, this is done by an inward movement of the soul, and in this way, properly speaking, humility is reckoned a virtue, because virtue does not consist in externals…” – From Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica.

In other words, humility is only authentic when it is internal– and not a public show.

This pope loves to showboat his own humility and charity - in fact, he never ceases to let the cameras see it. And he simply loves the sound of his own voice - he can’t stop talking to reporters and journalists on an almost daily basis now. And he obviously loves loves LOVES the constant media attention over all. How else would he let the world know just how humble he is? After all, the papacy is all about him and his humble humility after all - not like those other proud popes in days gone by with their proud flowing vestments and audaciously opulent red shoes. You see, he’s not proud, he’s just really really proud of his humility. And he has deemed himself the most humble of all the recent popes. In fact he has decided that he needs to correct all of those faults of pride by all the recent pontiffs. Apparently his hotline to the Holy Spirit is 4G broadband, whereas the other popes merely had landlines that didn’t have the spirtual clarity he enjoys. Thank goodness the Good Lord sent him in all his humility to proudly right this prideful ship.

Just remember folks: “By their fruits you will know them”

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’” - Matthew 7:15-23

Now before all of you Francis worshipers began gnashing your teeth and tearing your garments, tell me something - how do you suppose these “false prophets” and “Angels of Light” could be so effective at persuading so many of the faithful away from the Church?

And then ask yourselves: Who exactly is “converting” to the Church with this man’s words? And are they truly converting, or do they think the Church is actually converting to THEM and THEIR beliefs?

And just what kind of “Shepard” scatters his own flock while he supposedly goes out looking for lost sheep? After-all, making a mess of the flock only creates more lost sheep.

Is this really what the Holy Spirit does?

This pope has looked at the world and looked at the Church. And he has determined that the real problem here - is the Church. That’s right. In a world where the slaughter of the innocent unborn is a multibillion dollar worldwide industry of materialism at its worst - this pope thinks the Church “obsesses” on this lowest form of materialism far too much. And is a world where the worship of all-things-of-the-loins is utterly wreaking havoc on the family and spreading sexually transmitted disease and threatening the religious liberties and th every existence of the Church itself the world over - this pope thinks the Church “obsesses” too much on this issue. Apparently The timeless Bride of Christ needs to learn from the world and adapt the world’s ways and the world’s enlightened wisdom.

Now just think about that for a minute. When did Christ ever even hint at such a thing?

Flannery O’Conner wrote - “You have to push as hard as the age that pushes against you.”

But Pope Francis says - “He now, let’s not obsess here.”

And then ask yourself this: Isn’t this worldly appeal to worldly enlightenment the primary basis for every single heresy since the dawn of the Church? Or are we to believe that the Church has been suffering from some great apostasy in recent centuries - until now, when along comes this modern Angel of Light who will “correct” all of those ancient Traditional mistakes?

All the comments above are right on target. We are revisiting Vatican II all over again. Keep the below in mind:

“CHURCH RIPE FOR THE PLUCKING”

Phases of Vatican II:

1. Remove God from the Equation: Trample Authority/Dogmas/Doctrines/Traditions and make it a “thing of the past” and archaic at best without relevance and significance. We need to be creative and innovative about our ideas to make man worthy of his/her own conscience/fancies, and that Authority/Dogmas/Doctrines/Traditions must be relegated to mere notions of man’s inventions/conscience. Desecrate the Holy Mass/Eucharist (the memorial of the brutality of the Passion of Christ and Calvary Sacrifice). Destroy all instructions, religious orders, clarity, foundation, meaning, etc…. Usher in a New Mass centered on “Man” and not “God” since we are all “god-like”. Let’s cause massive confusion everywhere that people will have so much disdain for the One Holy Apostolic Catholic faith – the Church – of Jesus Christ. Let us call it the “Gathering” of the People

2. Remove “Sin” from the Equation: “Out of sight and Out of Mind” Let’s not talk about it. Let’s just preach “Salvation” to the Masses. Have no reference to anything that speaks of discipline, rules, laws, precedence, asceticism, etc….Let us be mystics and prophets of our own doing and be free from all the confines, structures and narrow-mindedness. Let us open the doors to all and welcome everybody so we can tell them about “Epitome Instituti” (“compendium made for practical purposes that replaced Constitutions). Let’s look at the Horizon and see what is next; what can we create and conjure up to satisfy this curiosity and adventure. Let us walk together, hand-in-hand because we are a faithful community. People will eventually get tired of authoritarianism and will find favor of our new creation. We are never “Right-Wingers”; we are liberators. Let’s refer to Joseph Malegue (French writer who authored “Black Stones: The Middle Classes of Salvation). Our new church has to find new roads, dialogue as much as possible and offer a proposal that is always positive, but it takes audacity and courage. Let us not explain too much of anything, but just a little. The people, the bishops and the Pope must walk together; socialize together; commune together. Let us not make too many distinctions. We must walk united with our differences; there is no other way. We need to re-read the Gospel under a new light; the old way is out of touch with reality. Do not complain; it never helps us find God; God is to be encountered in the world of today. Let us initiate processes rather than occupy spaces. Let us not be “Restorationists” or “Legalists”. Let us not look for clear and safe answers because you will find nothing. Let us prepare the way for our new Leader that will have this new “Frame of Mind”.

3. ANTICHRIST HEADS OUR CHURCH. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

To the Faithful, put on the Armor of God: EPHESIANS 6:10-20

In Christ,

Posted by Jeff Harris on Saturday, Oct 5, 2013 2:56 PM (EST):

The problem for me is that the Pope doesn’t seem to care all that much about homosexuality. No indication from him that he will do Anything about homosexuals aggregating to the priesthood. That was a main concern of Pope Benedict. That the world would view the Catholic priesthood as the province and accepting home of homosexuals.

homosexual priests are continuing to molest and girls are continuing to be relatively safe from such molestation in the Catholic church. This Pope seems to want to ignore that and talk about the evil of “lobbies”. That tells me even more homosexuals are going to be ordained and even more lurid tales of the exploits of homosexual prelates running around the Vatican are going to be in the news.

Benedict had a ‘dossier’ on his desk [which he turned over to Francis]
that contained the report of 3 Cardinals he appointed to looking into this matter. Benedict received the dossier about two weeks before he resigned and there is some speculation that it’s contents were extremely disappointing and helped lead to his resignation. Francis has mentioned that dossier ...but only in passing and it is kept from the public.

Posted by Manfred on Saturday, Oct 5, 2013 10:14 AM (EST):

The Church in the United States has paid out $2 BILLION in legal fees and settlements as a result of the actions of homosexual priest predations on pubescent Catholic boys. What was supposed to end as a result of Dallas, 2002, is still occurring, i.e., newspapers and district attorneys are still reporting on and prosecuting predator priests and the bishops who are covering for them. This would seem to me to be a great place for a sincere Pope to begin, as all these culprits are under his direct authority due to their Holy Orders.

Posted by Jeff Harris on Saturday, Oct 5, 2013 3:27 AM (EST):

I consider myself to be pretty intuitive and I can tell you that after reading that airplane interview , very carefully - if the transcript is anywhere near close to accurate - the faithful have much to fear and I don’t think it is “hysteria” on their part. Francis nearly “mocked” the suggestion that there was such a thing as ‘homosexual lobbies” - and added that he hadn’t received even a single business card from them - and that , in any event the real problem is not homosexuality but “lobbies”.

About 40 years ago the Church went off on this tangent to separate actions from tendencies. As if men do not receive the “Mind of Christ” but instead keep the “Mind of boy George” and then they have to make do.

Posted by Patrick on Friday, Oct 4, 2013 11:11 PM (EST):

The big question of the day seems to be “What is the Pope saying?”. He seems to need a lot of interpreters….Dolan, Check, Pavone, Lori… How many interpreters who “think what the Pope is saying” do we need?

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